Category Archives: First Friday Reviews

This past First Friday held an abundant offering of exhibits, and judging by the packed streets of downtown, you could tell that everyone was trying to enjoy the last fleeting days of summer. Art receptions for the evening included:

August can be a bittersweet month. It’s summer, but school is creeping up in a matter of weeks. We’re wearing shorts and tank tops, but planning an autumn wardrobe. There’s no snow, but it’s so hot and humid that simply taking a shower seems fruitless most days. Thankfully, First Friday comes with beer, wine, snacks, and an intellectual feast of the artistic variety to cool us off as we jump into the end of summer.

Hello, I’m Sharon! I’m filling in here on the JAM blog for the first time to do a Downtown Sioux Falls First Friday review for June 5th. I was able to make it to four different art receptions that evening, but there were many, many more than that going on. The weather was perfect and downtown was absolutely bustling and buzzing with people!

SIOUX FALLS DESIGN CENTER

My first stop was at the Sioux Falls Design Center for Pikachu Night. I mean, PechaKucha Night. PechaKucha isn’t nearly as mysterious as it sounds, though I still can’t pronounce it correctly. It’s a simple presentation format where 20 images are shown, each for 20 seconds, while the speaker talks about the images as they go by.

I made it just as the second speaker, Allyson Bousema, was starting. It was standing-room only and I could barely get in the door! Allyson was speaking about her new business, Prints & Repeat, a printing company focused on the unique needs of artists.

On a beautiful May Friday, my friend Melissa and I ventured out into the perfect spring air, a warm breeze teasing us that summer is near. Downtown was thriving with people, not an unusual occurrence considering today is one of the best days of the year – Downtown’s First Fridays AND the Art and Wine Walk! The Art and Wine Walk, sponsored by Downtown Sioux Falls, is an enticing way to bring people into the local shops, casually sipping wine and enjoying the artwork that is hosted there.

Forget favorite colors or holidays. This printmaker has a favorite day of the month. I’m sure by now you may have guessed, that day is First Friday. A day when the creative souls of our humble midwestern city gather en masse to celebrate one another’s work. And I must say, April showered us with a darn fun Friday.

I began my art seeking adventures at Prairie Berry Winery, where I stumbled upon a themed group exhibition called “The Art of the Colloquialism.” The titles of the works sure didn’t “beat around the bush” in alluding to the communicative theme of the works, with headlines like “Six Ways Till Sunday” by Collette Gesinger and a stunning “Take Five” in oil by Steve Randall.

I started my evening at the Sioux Falls Design Center for their PetchaKutcha Night. With an overflowing crowd settling in at 7PM for the speeches to begin, we were asked for four volunteers from the audience. These brave souls went on to narrate slides that popped up on the screen, each one unknown to the volunteer, and lasting 20 seconds long (coincidently the same amount of time per slide for the awaiting presenters). This activity serves as a warm-up for the room, and also gives the presenters that last boost of confidence; anyone can talk about something for 20 seconds. We can look at this activity in a broader sense, and take this as a lesson in interaction, and a nudge towards the need for open-mindedness. It’s important to keep an inquisitive attitude and a light-hearted approach when participating in community events such as this. Take an interest! Share your voice!

With temperatures hovering around thirty and the sun staying out just a smidge longer these days, it was a perfect night to venture out and admire some art. Once again, First Fridays were in full swing for the year. I bounced to three places – Eastbank Art Gallery, Prairie Berry Eastbank and Exposure Gallery.

My first stop was at Eastbank. The place was quickly filling with eager-going art lovers. I love running into people I know as I attend these events more and more often. It’s fun to walk into a familiar place and see some friendly faces.

Eastbank was hosting artist receptions for Amy Kasten and Ryan Howard. Amy’s quirky collages and gorgeous jewelry were immediately eye-catching as you walked in the door. Her jewelry ranged from delicate necklaces to leather bracelets and her collages were small and colorful, filling the walls. Ryan Howard’s pieces were vividly soothing, showcasing impressionistic-like qualities in his locally-themed, landscape paintings. Carl Grupp‘s colorful watercolor landscapes caught my eye as well as Gerry Punt‘s pottery in the front room. Other artists were featured in the gallery space as well. Eastbank is always one of my go-to places for seeing art on First Fridays.

Seven o’clock on Friday night rolled around, the winds picked up, preparing us for First Fridays to come. Here are the places I got to enjoy art and artists on the first wintery First Friday of the season.

The sweaters, tall boots, and scarves came out this past Friday. Trekking around Sioux Falls in the blustery, cold weather was a sharp reminder of what is in store for the upcoming months. Luckily, I had the wonderful Jana Anderson accompany me as we wove our way through the streets of downtown Sioux Falls. We hit as many places as we could for the First Friday event of October, absorbing art and happily participating in the Art and Wine walk.

Did I mention that I love First Fridays? How great is it that the community chooses to promote art and the downtown small business world every month? Attend more than one of these and you’ll be sure to see some of the same smiling faces, people who eagerly support this re-occuring event. Without these people, this wonderful evening wouldn’t be happening.

Take a peek below to read about the venues, the artists and the experience of spending a few minutes at as many places as we could.

This is my first First Friday Review. There were so many events going on that it was impossible to go to all of them and give each the amount of time they deserved to experience what each unique place had to offer.

Art in the Alleyway

I began my First Friday journey by wandering downtown, past Mama’s Ladas, and into the alleyway, curious as to what the giant sign was suggesting was back there. Turning the corner, a magical little world was in full swing with artists proudly showing off their work at tables and booths, musicans setting up for their upcoming performance and small crowds of people gathered and talking. Everything from prints, paintings, graphic design, tshirts, pottery, woodworking, clothing, and decorative deer antlers were on display. It was an Continue reading First Friday Review – September 5th→